


yes.

by Karasuno Volleygays (ToBeOrNotToBeAGryffindor)



Series: Valentine's Kisses 2019 [25]
Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: First Person, Friends to Lovers, M/M, Star-struck Akaashi, soft
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-26
Updated: 2019-01-26
Packaged: 2019-10-16 06:41:15
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,223
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17544659
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ToBeOrNotToBeAGryffindor/pseuds/Karasuno%20Volleygays
Summary: From the first moment I saw him, I was drawn into his orbit.Even in his first year of high school, Bokuto Koutarou was a lot of things. He was happy, he had stupid hair, he was ridiculous, he was strong, he was laughing, he was driven, he wasincredible.





	yes.

From the first moment I saw him, I was drawn into his orbit. 

Even in his first year of high school, Bokuto Koutarou was a lot of things. He was happy, he had stupid hair, he was ridiculous, he was strong, he was laughing, he was driven, he was  _ incredible _ .

I watched every match of his I could during the high school tournament. Even though I was in middle school, I made the trip to see more of Bokuto’s awe-inspiring play. To call him a human highlight reel didn’t quite do justice to what it was like to see him play up close. I even showed up to the arena two hours early to get a good spot to watch him so I could take it all in.

Did he even know I existed? At the moment, probably not. I wouldn’t blame him. I was an above-average setter on an above-average team. My team’s ace was hard-working and a good presence, but everyone tended to look lackluster after taking in a full match of Bokuto’s indomitable presence.

All I knew for sure was that wherever Bokuto was, I would do whatever I could do to follow.

Bokuto was a first year at Fukurodani, and I spent much of my third year of middle school making sure I could go there, too. I was fortunate enough to get a recommendation from them after showing interest in the school. It wasn’t for my volleyball skills but rather my grades, but who cared when it was where I wanted to go for both?

My parents balked a little at the school’s tuition being a little on the high end of the scale, but a few pamphlets from the guidance counselor’s office about their high rate of top tier college admission put that to rest. 

I did my best in my schoolwork to justify the expense and their faith in me because I always had, but I never forgot for a minute why I wanted to be there, and it was because of  _ him. _

The first day of the volleyball club was an experience, to be sure. While none of them had the magnetic qualities Bokuto did, everyone was very, very good. The rest of Bokuto’s batch of second years in particular were skilled, and I knew it would be hard to crack the lineup in time to get my turn to play with who was arguably the best player I’d ever known. 

As it turns out, I didn’t have to wait that long at all.

“Hey, uh, Akashi-kun?” Bokuto asked while I was gathering up stray balls after practice, hands behind his back with a sheepish expression on his face.

He was talking to me, the uninspiring Akaashi Keiji. How he even remembered me at all, even if he didn’t get my name quite right, I have no idea. But of course, my mouth got ahead of me like it always did, and I corrected, “It’s Akaashi.”

Bokuto laughed and waved his hand. “Yeah, that’s right. My bad. Anyway, you’re a setter, right?”

“Right.” I held my breath, waiting for him to continue. 

He wasn’t going to ask me. That would be ridiculous. I was a first year scrub and a nobody to this guy. He was probably just looking for one of the older setters and thought I would know where to find them. I did, but I wish I didn’t. It was a petty thought, but it was hard not to want to be noticed by him.

“Could you help me practice my spikes for just a little bit? I want to work on my crosses.” He jabbed his thumb to his chest and grinned. “I mean, they’re awesome already, but I want them to be  _ super _ awesome, ya know?”

“Of course, Bokuto-san,” I answered. Of course I was going to say yes. The star player on the team wanted my help, and damn it all if I wasn’t going to deliver.

As it turned out, his energy was boundless and after a while, I was barely able to stand, let alone play, but all it took for me to forge ahead was a wide smile and a compliment.

“Akashi —”

“It’s Akaashi.”

“— your tosses are the best.”

My heart was pounding from a mixture of exhaustion and the idea of being praised, being noticed by the person I wanted to please more than anyone. He asked me to toss for him because I was a setter, I thought, but maybe I had something to contribute to his ace quality, after all.

Of course, I didn’t say any of that because I’m a complete spaz. Instead, I wheezed a bland, “Uh, sure.”

Bokuto whined for me to sound a little more excited about it, but he didn’t have to because I already was. If he asked me to set the moon so he could hit it right out of the sky, I would have. 

He was going to be the ace, and for the first time since I set foot in Fukurodani’s gymnasium, I knew I had a chance to stand next to him.

  
  


As it turned out, even shining stars had their dull moments here and there, and I had a lot to learn about Bokuto as a player.

It was our first official match as an ace/setter duo, as we were both promoted after the Interhighs when the third years retired. While I don’t feel like I personally did poorly, Bokuto wasn’t himself and we got absolutely destroyed by a quality opponent that didn’t hesitate to capitalize. 

I went looking for Bokuto to talk about the match, to see what we could both learn from to help us do better next time. I couldn’t find him, and I was at a loss. 

That was when I heard it.

It was his voice, if only a shadow of it. “Akaashi?”

Finally, I spotted him curled up into a ball under the Gatorade cooler, his hair, his face, his entire being wilted and flat. “Practice spikes with me for just a lil’ bit?”

The request was soft, not like him at all, and one I definitely could not ignore. “Sure.” 

Of course, I never said what I was really thinking because I never quite knew what to say to him back then.  _ Always. Anytime. Whatever you need, I’ll be there. I’m here for you, Bokuto-san. _ My responses were almost always dull and uninspiring to the point when I wondered if he thought I didn’t like him or didn’t want to work with him. That was far from the case. 

But he never stopped asking, and I never, ever stopped saying ‘yes’.

I never picked Fukurodani with the idea that I could step into this role, but it was there and Bokuto chose to offer it to me. It went without saying that I was glad I took the chance to go there. I may have done it for stupid reasons, but who cared when I could barely remember what my life was like before Bokuto was in it?

  
  


Our last match together was a wonderful, painful, incredible thing. We both played our hearts out, both had our share of poor moments and our share of grand ones. However, I barely remember who won that day because the real victory that day was the moment Bokuto pulled me to the side after we got off the bus at school.

“Akaashi, you have a minute?”

I always made time for Bokuto, but at this point, I knew not to tell him that to avoid letting it go to his head too much or he’d get distracted for half the night. “Sure.”

We slipped into the empty clubroom, as everyone else was headed home after the match for some well-earned rest. Bokuto slouched against the lockers and heaved a loud, long sigh. “Oh, man, high school volleyball has been really great. I’m so happy I got to be here with everyone.”

He pushed off the lockers and sat next to me on the bench. “But do ya know my absolute favorite part of being here, of playing here, and even, like, coming to practice every day?”

I blinked in question, because I certainly had no idea. Bokuto loved everything about everything when he was doing well. He even enjoyed the smell of sweat when they won because victory sweat apparently had a distinctive scent. I wasn’t inclined to agree, but —

“It’s you.” My eyes widened, and my jaw hung open in complete shock. My face must have been ridiculous, because I’m pretty sure Bokuto was laughing at me. Or maybe he was just happy. Either way, I was so out of words that I couldn’t even blurt the first thing that came to mind before I could stop it. 

Bokuto threw an arm around my shoulders and gave me a bracing side hug. “The first time you ever tossed to me, I knew you were the setter I wanted to play with for the rest of high school. Then I was lucky enough that it actually happened.”

He turned to me and quirked a brow, a wide grin on his face. “But you know what else happened? I realized that I really, really liked you in general.”

“Bokuto-san,” I gasped. My mouth, my entire windpipe was bone dry and I could feel my heart thrashing in my chest. I didn’t know where this was going, but the guy I admired the most was saying stuff even my best dreams couldn’t compete with.

His arm fell away, and some of his good humor slipped. He hunched over, his wilting hairdo brushing at the tops of his cheeks. “I wanted to wait to say this after the season was over because I didn’t make you not want to be here.”

“I have no idea what you’re talking about.” Not the smoothest way to say it, but it was the truth. I couldn’t even fathom what would make me not want to be there, with him, side by side where we belong.

He chuckled and shook his head. “I don’t even know how to say this without sounding like a tool, so I’m just gonna say it and let you decide what you want to do.

“I like you, Akaashi. A lot.”

My mouth opened and closed a half dozen times, each of them an aborted form of ‘what does that even mean’. There were buckets of connotations behind those words. He liked playing volleyball with me. He liked doing extra practice with me. Maybe he even liked it when I did what I could to adjust his moods, though I doubt much of anyone likes being handled. 

_ I wanted to wait to say this after the season was over because I didn’t make you not want to be here. _

Oh.

It seemed stupidly obvious at that point, and I could feel my entire face get red. The most magnetic person I would ever know was looking at me, willing to shoulder this feeling alone to protect our current relationship. Bokuto, whose long-term patience was practically non-existent, waited for some undefined amount of time just to tell me something he wasn’t sure I would be willing to hear.

And how did I feel about it?

The silence between us was as loud as the ocean tides at night in my ears, and my entire body itched to do something. I didn’t know what it wanted, but I knew what  _ I _ wanted.

I swung my leg over his lap and crushed our mouths together. My fingers thrust roughly into his hair, and I swallowed Bokuto’s groan. His arms latched around my waist and hefted me close and — chest to chest, mouth to mouth, heart to heart — we figured out a new way to work well together, to connect.

Both of us were panting, and my head was reeling from a barrage of new feelings born from old ones, making something I had never experienced before.

Of course, Bokuto was never at a loss for words about anything. “So, um, does this mean you like me too, then?”

“Yes, Bokuto-san.”

“And can I take you out sometime?” He reached up and cupped his hands against my jaw, and I shivered when his thumbs gently brushed my cheeks. “I’m going to find myself with a lot of extra time on my hands, and every minute you’re willing to give me, I’d like to spend with you, yeah?”

I pressed my forehead against his and closed my eyes, letting the words and the pure experience of this moment soak in. After all of this, after everything we’ve done side by side, I couldn’t help but smile. “Yeah.” 

Bokuto cheered loudly and animatedly in my face, and it was wonderful. He nearly sent up both toppling off the bench, but one more searing kiss quieted his limbs and kept us upright.

But wasn’t that always what it had been like for us? I supported him whenever I could, when I knew he needed it, and he never hesitated to do that for me. 

On our way out of the clubroom and to a nearby diner, Bokuto’s hand eagerly linked with mine, and he hummed the whole way there as if everything was right in the world. 

And you know what? It was. It really was. 

 


End file.
